Nutating propeller pump



Aug. 4, 1959 R. RoY, JR

NUTATING PROPELLER PUMP Filed Dec. so, 1955 INENTOR /PaaEw/ J/ BY /Y w I. AM

ATTORNEY 23973761 NUTATING PROPELLER PUMP Robert Roy, Jr., Bradford, Pa., assignor of one-third to Virginia Burdick Roy and one-third to Rona Roy Lynch, both of Bradford, Pa.

Application December 30, 1955, Serial No. 556,529

19 ciatms. (C1. los- This invention relates to fluid displacement devices and more particularly to fluid displacement puinps employing nutating propellers.

Typical nutating pumps of the prior art employ a nutating piston in the form of a disc which is fitted closely within a spherical chamber and which may be formed with a slot to receive a vane which reciprocates therein. Such'pumps rely upon positive fluid displacement action, are limited to small inlet and outlet openings, and require critical fluid seals to ensure their proper operation. The present invention is directed to a pump which does not rely upon positiye fluid displacement action and which, therefore, does not require complicated seal arrangements. The pump of the present invention is intended primarily for the displacem'ent of non-compressible fluids, such as heavy drilling mud. Its operation is based upon the action of a propeller which nutates and rotates, and upon the'cooperative action of a plurality of such propellers.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel fluid displacement device.

Another object of the invention is to provide a unique pump which does not rely upon positive fluid dsplacement for its pumping action.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fluid displacement device having a novel feeding and throwing action that aids in preventing settling out of suspended matter.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a pump having unique propeller means.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a unique system for operatively associating propeller means in groups.

`A still further object of the invention is to provide a pump or fluid displacement device having a plurality of Sections and in which the action of the individual sections may differ from other Sections.

A further object of the invention is to provide a pump which does not require complicated seals.

Briefly, a fluid displacement device constructed in accordance with the teachings of Vthe present invention may include a propeller mounted for nutation or wabbling motion in a chamber having an inlet side and an outlet side. The propeller may assume divergent forms and may be supported by contact of the extremities thereof with the enclosing chamber, or alternatively may receive its support from a shaft which in turn is peculiarly mounted in thechamber. Accordingto the invention a fluid displacement device may be built up in units of similar construction, successive units being arranged so that they may be driven from preceding units. The propellers are preferably fonned so that the fluid displacement results from nutation or wabbling in combination with axial rotation.

The foregoing and additional objects of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein:

,a 239mm Pafented Aug- 4, 1959 Figure l is a longitudinal section illustrating a fluid displacement device comprising plural propeller units arranged in sequence;

Figure 2 is an enlarged partly sectional view of an alternative means for coupling successive units operatively;

Figure 3 is an enlarged partly sectional view of a modified form of the coupling means illustrated in Figure 1 for use when it is desired that successive propeller units rotate oppositely;

Figure 4 is an enlarged partly sectional view of still another modification of the coupling means; and

Figure 5 is a truncated longitudinal section of an alternative form of the invention llustrating a different type of propeller and a different propeller mounting means.

VReferring now to Figure l, ft) designates generally the outer housing or casing of the fluid displacement device, which, in a preferred form may be constituted by a metal casting divided longitudinally as indicated by line 11 so as to form a pair of housing Sections 10a and 10b. The housing portions may be joined through the use of bolts passing through suitable housing fianges (not shown) which may be provided in a manner well known. A suitable gasket, or other conventional joining means (not shown) is preferably clamped between the housing halves. Alternatively, in a multi-unit construction of the type illustrated, the housing for each adjacent pair of half units may be formed as a unitary body, and successive housings may be joined by fianges in the manner indicated previously. The particular manner of housing construction is not in itself al primary feature of the inven-.

tion. Suffice it to say that the housing is formed in a conventional 'manner which will allow easy assembly of the housing and internal parts.

In the form shown, housing 1G has a discharge end 12 which is open or connected to a discharge conduit (not shown) and an inlet end which is covered by a cap 14. The cap and inlet end may be suitably flanged as indicated to receive a plurality of bolts 16 which secure the cap to the housing and at the same ltime hold in position a conical end member 18 and a crcular ring gear member 20.

Housing 10 may be provided with a plurality of internal chambers 22, 24, 26 along the axis of the housing. The number of chambers is, of course, a matter of choice depending upon the desired use of the pump and it is in fact possible to employ chambers having different transverse dimensions. In the form shown the chambers are of generally spherical configuration with the ends of the chambers being truncated in planes perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of housing 10 so that the chambers may readily communicate With one another.

Each chamber may be provided with a propeller 28, 30, 32., respectively, which in the form illustrated in Figure l, comprises a ring 34 having an outer contour which is slidably fitted to and complements the spherical surface of the enclosing chamber, and thus supports the propeller for motion in the chamber, and a helical vane 36 which joins the ring to a central hub 38. In practice, the parts of the propeller may be constituted by a single casting.

In the form shown in Figure 1, the helical vane comprises a single turn which progresses along the axis of rotation of the propeller. The outer extremity of the vane contacts the ring 28 throughout its length. The hub 38 of the first propeller may be smoothly spherical on one 3 as described below. Adjacent ends of |the drive shafts are preferably operatively coupled by couplingrunits 4 6. In theforml illustrated in Figure 1, the coupling units comprise a pair of bevel gears 48, 50 'keyed or splined onthe opposed ends' of'the drive shafts, respectively, and meshedin a housing 51Vv which is provided witl'tsuitable bores 53 to constitute journals for. the Adrive shafts rotatively mounted therein. The coupling units may be filled with a'suitablelubricant for the'gears and may be forrned inv sections to allow the insertion of the gears and'the removali'thereof for repairs, ifnecessary, It will be noted that infv the embodiment of Figure 1, the housing 51' of the coupling units 46 is actually supported by the. drive shafts, rather than vice versa.

The last drive shaft, 44, may beshorter than the preceding shafts, for there `is no necessity for driving a su'cice'eding unit, and the drive shaft extension is not required for the support of its propeller. In the form shown in Figure l, the propellers are actually supported by the inner spherical'housing surface which-engages the7 complementary surface of the rings 34 of the propellers.

The first drive shaft, 40, is provided with means for causing thefirst shaft and consequentlyl the remaining shafts to rotate on their axes. In the form shown, this drive means comprises planetary gearing including a planet gear 52..keyed or splined on thel end Vof shaft 40, a sun gear 54 keyed or splined onv the end of an exten'or drive shaft 56, which is journalled in cap 14,V andaZ ring or internal vgear 58 formed on member 20. The

teeth of gears 52`and 58 v`are bevelled, as shown, so that? planet gear 52' may ride around ring gear 58 with the drive 'shaft 40 at an angle. The orbital motion of planet gear 52 results lfrom rotation of shaft 56 and gear 54, which lengages the planet gear. The space between the end cap. 14 andV theconical end member 18 may contain a suitable hbricant for the gear train, and suitable seals or' gaskets may be provided between the members clamped bybolts 16 to prevent the escape of the lubrictnt| M I i Ilhe first Ichamber 22v may'be provided with a plurality of annularlyfiarranged inlet ports 60 adjacent the conical end member 18. The arrangement of the portsV is-not critical, and. the number, size, configuration, andV location of the ports may be variedf as willibe apparent- The outlet port may be con-v to those'skilledin'the art. stituted bythe open end 12 vof the casing In the embodiment of Figure l it willbe observed that theangle of the drive shafts of the individual propellers withjrespect to the longitudinal axis of housing 10 is fixed* prior to the assembly of the pump.l The drive shafts cannot movey longitudinally within the housing 10,

because the contact of the spherical surface of the chambers 22, 24, and 26 with the complementary spherical surface of thevrings 34, preventssuch motion. The angle of inclination of the. first drive shaft 40 isheld constant by the Iplanetary gearing unit, and the angle of inclination of the 'succeedingshafts is held constant by the coupl1 `ng` units 46, the journals therein having a predetermined inclina'tion. While the inclination of the drive shafts` with respect to the longitudinal axis of the hous- 1n`g'10 `is fiX'edonce the unit is constructed, it will -be apparent `tliatl any 'de'sired inclinationfrnay be chosen, and that lsu'ccessive units-may have different inclinations. As

indicated p'revi'ously, the radialV size of the individual propellers; and their enclosing chambers may difer fromv unit to umt. Moreover, the construction'of the individual propellers; may differ, so that one propeller may have a single hehcal turn, while other propellers may have more than'-"one` helical turn, Infact, some ofV the propellers may not be helical. at all, but may comprise individualVv paddle orf'tur'bine' blades, for example.

Infthe operation? of the apparatus illustrated in FigureV l, the drive shaft 56 may be rotated in a-predetermined' direction by a so'urce of motive power (not shown).l The resulting orbital'motionof planet gear 52V causes drive 4. shaft 40 and propeller 28 to rotate about the axs of drive shaf t 4 0. At the same time drive shaft 40 and propeller, 28 are caused to nutate or wabble about a center located at the intersection of the longitudinal axis of housing 10 and the axis of drive shaft 40. The drive shaft 40 will thereby describe a pair of cones having their apices opposed at this center of nutation'and their longitudinal axes along the aXis of housing 10.

In its nuta/tion, drive shlaft' .40 carries with'it the coupling unit 46 which joins shafts 40 and 42. This coupling unit-thus describes a'cir'cle at the junetionplane of chamber's 22 and 24, thereby causing drive shaft 42 and'propeller 30 to nutate about a center located at the intersection of,the Vlongitudinallaxis of.housing.- 10 andthe aXis of drive shaft 42.. The rotation of drive shaft 40 about its axis is imparted to drive shaft 42 through the gears within the associated coupling unit 46, and this causes propeller 30 to rotate about the axis of drive shaft 42',as,well jasto wabble ,or nutate. It will be apparent from ,the action just described that lpropeller 32 is caused= to rotate and nutate in a similar manner throughv the cooperation of drive shafts 42 `and ,44:andtthe coupling'unt 46- associated therewithz Asfew .or asfmany propellerunits'as' desired may be included Vin the' driven chain.

Thewabbling action of the propellers 'is transmitted to a .fluid ,withinhousing101entering through inlet port 60. This wabblingzaction.together .with1the rotary motionimparted by the helical .vanes 36 agtates or churns the fluid can resultzthrough the operation of'the .pump of the present'invention is particularly beneficial in the pumping of'any fluid whiehmay contain: solid particles suspended therein.: The'. action .pr'events the particles from settling.l

out/in: therpumping mechanism` andcloggingthe same.

Figure 2 illustrates a modification of the coupling unit of :.Figure. 1, and in` this: embodimentv the couplingunit generally designated.62'comprises. a flexibleboot or housing;64 enclosinga .conventional 'universal joint,.which may include a ring member 66, andhalf ring members.

68 and 70 fixed respectively, to drive Vshafts 71., Member 68 .may be rotatively. coupled tomember. 66 byv opposite bearings l72, while member. 70 may be rotatively .coupled, to :ring rmember 66 byopposite bearings 74'; The axes of the respective pars of bearings are orthogonallyrelated to allowuniversal motion .in.a .Well knownmanner.

Figure 3 illustrates another modification of .thecoupling unit... In this embodiment coupling unit 76 includes a casing 78,. a pair of bevel gears 80 keyed or splined to.

the associated propeller drive shafts 81, and an.inter.- mediate rever'sing or. idler gear 82 which meshes. with gears80v and is keyed or. splined on a stub shaft 84 journalled'in housing 76 in the same manner as shafts 81.. In this embodiment the respective shafts 81 will rotate in opposite direetions., These shafts may be. provided with propellersof the type' illustrated. in Figure .1, butthreaded in. opposite. directions.

In: the embodiment of Figure 4' an alternative coupling. unt,86 isiIIuStrated.. This unit comprises .a housing 88.which. encloses a pair ,of spur gears 90 having appropriately. angulated teeth'.. These gears. are mounted, respectively,.on associatedpropeller drive shafts 92. The ends ,of the, drive shafts may pass throughv the gears and bev journalled separately in the housing, 88 as indicated at 94.l The gear. train. .is designed in accordance with conventional. practice so that rotation of either drive shaft about-.its axis will cause rotation of the remainiug. drive1shaft in the opposite direction.

Figure 5 illustrates .a modification of the. ,invention in which .a ditferent'type of propeller and a different type of propeller mounting means are employed.,V In this ,embodiment, housingv 96tjincludes la' pair of v chambers 98 andi100 which are 4formed in housing portions 96a and 96h, respectively.. Between the-housing-,portions maybe.

clamped an annular journal block 102. The journal block and the housing portions may be joined by bolts inserted in appropriate flanges (not shown) in a Well known manner, and suitable gaskets may be provided between the respective parts. A ring 104 may be mounted for rotationwithin journal block 102 about the'longitudinal axis of housing 96. The ring may be held against longitudinal motion With respect to housing 96 by the end surfaces of housing portions 96a and 96h. It will be apparent that suitable ball or roller bearings may be provided between the surfaces of ring 104 and the associated stationary parts.

Ring 104 may form the rm of a Wheel having spokes 106 and an eccentric hub formed by a coupling unit 108. Coupling unit 108 may assume any of the forms lillustrated in the previous figures or any other suitable conventional form. Spokes 106 may be fiat or round 'or may assume a helical or paddle-shaped configuration.

The propellers in Figure have been illustrated as con- :stituted by a plurality of fan blades 110 which eXtend :radially from a drive shaft 112. These blades need not =contact the inner surface of the associated chambers, for :in this embodiment the propellers are supported by projpeller shafts 112, which in turn are supported at an angle Tto the axis of housing 96 by coupling unit 108. Addi- "tional propeller units may be added in the same manner :as Figure 1, and the first unit may be driven by a suit- :able planetary gearing unit as in that figure. It is also possible to combine units of the type illustrated in Figures 1 and 5 so that some of the propeller units are supported lby the propellers thernselves, while other units are supported by the propeller shafts, 'which in turn are sup- ;ported by the coupling units.

The mechanical motion produced by the operation of ithe device of Figure 5 is substantially the same as that `of Figure 1. If the left-hand drive shaft is caused to rotate and nutate as drive shaft 40 in Figure 1, the same motion will be limparted to the right-hand drive shaft and its propeiler through coupling unit 108. If this unit is the type illustrated in Figure 1, the shafts will rotate in the same sense. Nutation of the drive shafts will cause ring 104 to revolve in journal block 102. The consequent rotation of spokes 1.06 will aid the fiuid displacement.

The apparatus of the present invention is subject to numerous variations. For example, other drive means and other propeller mounting means may be employed. The speed of successive units may be made to differ, for example, by utilizing gear reduction units in place of the 1 to 1 coupling units illustrated. Moreover, in some instances it may be desirable to use merely a single propeller unit. The invention is not limited to a mud pump but may be employed for other purposes. While there have been described herein what are at present considered preferred embodiments of the invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that other modifications and changes may be made therein without departing from the essence of the invention. 'It is, therefore, to be understood that the eXemplary embodiments are illustrative and not restrictive of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims, and that all modifications that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be included therein.

I claim:

1. In a device of the typie described, a housing having a longitudinal axis and a pair of comrnunicating chambers arranged successively along said axis, a propeller in each of said chambers, a drive shaft for each propeller, the propellers extending radially from their respective drive shafts, said drive shafts extending into the respective chambers at an angle to said axis, and adjacent ends of said shafts being coupled rotatively, and means coupled to one of said shafts for rotating it about its axis and 6 simultaneonsly nutating said shaft chamber.

2. In a device of the type described, a chamber having an axis, a propeller, means supporting said propeller in said chamber with its axis tlted With respect to said chamber axis, and means coupled to said propeller for causing it to rotate on its axis and for causing its axis to nutate about a point in said chamber.

3. In the device of claim 2, said means supporting said propeller in said chamber comprising the outer extremity of said propeller and the chamber Wall.

4. In the device of claim 3, said propeller extremity and said wall being spherical.

5. In the device of claim 2, said means supporting said propeller in said chamber comprising a drive shaft along the axis of said propeller and fixed to the latter, and means supporting at least one end of said shaft for orbital motion.

6. In a device of the type described, a housing having an axis and a pair o'f communicating chambers along said axis, a pair of propellers, means movably mounting one of said propellers in each of said chambers, respectively, each said propellers extending radially in its chamber, a drive shaft for each propeller fixed thereto centrally `thereabout a point in said of, means coupling said shafts for axial rotation at a pair off adjacent ends thereof with the axes of said shafts intersecting at a fixed angle, and means coupled 'to one of said shafts for imparting nutation and axial rotation to' it, Whereby both said propellers are rotated and Wabbled.

7. In the device of claim 6, at least one of said propellers comprising a helical vane.

8. In the device of claim 6, at least one of said propellers comprising a plurality of blades.

9. In the device of claim 6, said propeller mounting means comprising the extremities 'of said propellers and the walls of said chambers.

10. In the device of claim 6, said propeller mounting means comprising means supporting said coupling means rotatively.

11. In the device of claim 6, said coupling means comprising a casing having a pair of journals for receiving the coupled ends of said shafts, and gears in said casing respectively coupled to said shafts.

12. In the device of claim 6, said coupling means comprising a casing having a pair of journals for receiving the coupled ends of said shafts and a universal joint in said casing connecting said shafts.

13. In the device of claim 6, the last-mentioned means comprising a planetary gear train with a planet gear fixed to said one shaft.

14. In a device of the type described, a housing having a pair of shafts therein, the axes of said shafts intersecting at a predetermined angle, a propeller mounted on each shaft, mounting means for supporting said shafts for nutation in said housing and coupling means coupling said shafts for axial rotation.

15. In the device of claim 14, said mounting means comprising a ring j ournalled in said housing, said ycoupling means being supported eccentrically in 'said ring by another propeller.

16. In the device of claim 14, said coupling means comprising a gear train connecting said shafts for opposite rotation.

17. In a device of 'the type described, a housing having a spherical chamber therein, said chamber having an axis and an inlet and an outlet spaced along said axis, a shaft in said chamber at an angle to said axis, a propeller fixed on said shaft between said inlet and said outlet and extending radially therefrom, said propeller having a spherical extremity which slides on and complements the surface of said chamber, and drive means coupled to one end of said shaft for causing said shaft to rotate on its axis and nutate in said chamber.

18. In the device of claim 17, said housing having a second chamber therein, said second chamber having. an 

